This invention relates to a connector for electrical and removable connection between an electrical circuit board mounting the connector thereon and an electrical device having a mating connector removably connected to the connector and, in particular, to a hot-plug connector capable of carrying out the connection and the disconnection even while electric power is supplied to the electrical circuit board and/or the electrical device.
Conventionally, there was the matter with a conventional connector in that electric chips such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) mounted the electrical circuit board and/or the electrical device damage when the mating connector is plugged in/out to/from the connector while electric power is supplied to the electrical circuit board and/or the electrical device.
In order to settle the matter mentioned above, the hot-plug connector is provided and used. The hot-plug connector is provided with a plurality kind of contacts respectively corresponding to a plurality kind of the uses. Each of the contacts is provided with a contact portion for contacting to a mating contact of the mating connector. The contact portions are different in length with one another. With this structure, the contacts of the hot-plug connector connect/disconnect to/from the mating contacts of the mating connector with a time lag. The time lag serves to prevent the electrical chip from damaging.
Such kinds of the hot-plug connector is disclosed for example in Japanese Utility Unexamined Publication (JP-U) No. 92390/1992 and Japanese Patent Examined Publications (JP-B) Nos. 77152/1995 and 77153/1995. In these Publications, the hot-plug connector used for connecting/disconnecting to/from the mating connector attached to a PC (Personal Computer) card standardized in PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) as the electrical device are described. The hot-plug connector can connect to the mating connector attached on the PC card so that the contacts connect to the mating contacts with the time lag. Namely, a VCC contact (for power supplying) and a GND contact (for grounding), signal contacts (for transmitting data signals and the like), and a CD contact (for detecting the PC card) of the hot-plug connector connect to the mating contacts in this xe2x80x9cthree stepsxe2x80x9d order.
The hot-plug connector is generally attached to the electrical circuit board so that peg portions of the contacts are mounted on a surface of the electrical circuit board by soldering. Such mounting process is called as an xe2x80x9cSMT (Surface Mounting Technology)xe2x80x9d.
It is requested for the hot-plug connector to be mounted by the SMT that surfaces of peg portions to be contacted to the surface of the electrical circuit board as a mounting object of the contacts are as small in area as possible. The smaller in area of the peg portions the more preferable to efficiency use an area pre-limited of the surface of the electrical circuit board.
Furthermore, it is also requested for the hot-plug connector to be mounted by the SMT that contact-flatness is excellent so as to be not larger than 0.1 mm. Herein, the contact-flatness indicates degree how the surfaces of the peg portions are equal in protruding-height/sinking-depth to one another. The contact-flatness is shown by height difference value of the surface from the criterion height of the peg portions. The contact-flatness is also called as xe2x80x9cbottom surface uniformity of contactsxe2x80x9d in EIAJ (Electronic Industries Association of Japan).
The conventional hot-plug connector has disadvantage such as to be large in area for mounting thereof because of a structure in which the contacts is thrust into an insulator so as to be different in insertion depth into the insulator from one another.
Furthermore, the conventional hot-plug connector also has the other disadvantage such as to be inferior in the contact-flatness. This is because it is impossible of maintaining the peg portions of smaller value in the contact-flatness over long length in the depth direction.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a hot-plug connector small in size and excellent in the contact-flatness.
The other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will become clear as the following description proceeds.
This invention is directed to a hot-plug connector capable of carrying out electrical and removable connection between an electrical circuit board mounting the hot-plug connector thereon and an electrical device having a mating connector removably connected to the hot-plug connector even while electric power is supplied to the electrical circuit board and/or the electrical device, the hot-plug connector comprising a plurality of contacts used for a plurality of the uses and an insulator used for holding the contacts on the electrical circuit board so that the contacts are arranged in a width direction which is parallel to a main surface of the electrical circuit board, each of the contacts being provided with a peg portion, located on one end of the contact in a depth direction which is parallel to the main surface of the electrical circuit board and along which the mating connector is connected to/removed from the hot-plug connector, for being mounted on the main surface of the electrical circuit board, a contact portion, located on the other end of the contact in the depth direction, for the removable connection to a mating contact of the mating connector, and a squeezed portion, located between the peg and the contact portions in the depth direction, for being pushed into and hold by the insulator. The peg portions are equal in length to one another in the depth direction. The squeezed portions are equal in length to one another, in the depth direction. The contact portions are different in length in the depth direction from one another so as to correspond to the uses. The peg portions are located on the main surface of the electrical circuit board at the same location in the depth direction. The squeezed portions are located at the same location in the depth direction. The contact portions are protruded to the different location from each other in the depth direction.
This invention is also directed to a method of manufacturing a hot-plug connector, the hot-plug connector being capable of carrying out electrical and removable connection between an electrical circuit board mounting the hot-plug connector thereon and an electrical device having a mating connector removably connected to the hot-plug connector even while electric power is supplied to the electrical circuit board and/or the electrical device, the hot-plug connector comprising a plurality of contacts used for a plurality of the uses and an insulator used for holding the contacts on the electrical circuit board so that the contacts are arranged in a width direction which is parallel to a main surface of the electrical circuit board, each of the contacts being provided with a peg portion, located on one end of the contact in a depth direction which is parallel to the main surface of the electrical circuit board and along which the mating connector is connected to/removed from the hot-plug connector, for being mounted on the main surface of the electrical circuit, board, a contact portion, located on the other end of the contact in the depth direction, for the removable connection to a mating contact of the mating connector, and a squeezed portion, located between the peg and the contact portions in the depth direction, for being pushed into and hold by the insulator. The method comprises the steps of preparing the contacts so that the peg portions are equal in length to one another in the depth direction, that the squeezed portions are equal in length to one another in the depth direction, that the contact portions are different in length in the depth direction from one another so as to correspond to the uses, and that said contacts are connected to one another by a carrier-frame so that the peg portions are arranged in line, attaching the contacts to the insulator by pushing the contacts into the insulator so that the peg portions are located at the same location in the depth direction, that the squeezed portions are located at the same location in the depth direction, and that the contact portions are protruded to the different location from each other in the depth direction, and cutting the carrier-frame away form the contacts.